Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers sends clear message to Postecoglou over Tottenham raid for Parkhead talisman

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has clearly talked up the prospect of Kyogo Furuhashi remaining at the club next season, despite strong links to Tottenham.

The Japan international forward has been tipped to follow Ange Postecoglou to north London this summer after Celtic’s treble success under the Australian last term.

The 28-year-old has scored 54 goals for the Bhoys since Postecoglou brought him to Glasgow two years ago from Vissel Kobe in a bargain £4.6million transfer.

But with the former Celtic boss now at Spurs, talkSPORT revealed last month that Postecoglou was looking to sign Furuhashi given the doubts over Harry Kane’s long-term future.

Those links have not disappeared, despite things going quiet on the Kane front as he enjoys a family holiday. However, Rodgers is planning for the Japan forward to be leading his line next season as he prepares for his second spell as Celtic manager.

He told the The Herald: “I’ve seen quite a bit of Kyogo. If you look through my history: strikers who can penetrate the last line, who can receive and score goals. Think of [Luis] Suarez – he could run in behind. Danny Graham at Swansea was great for me.

“Then at Liverpool, [Daniel] Sturridge and Suarez could run in behind and penetrate. It was the same with [Jamie] Vardy at Leicester. Kyogo is certainly that. It’s a team who can look after the ball and play at fast speed.

“What I see is a team where there are no real big stars. There are some top players — Kyogo, [Reo] Hatate, Jota, these guys — but the star really is the team. It reminds me very much of my Swansea team, how they are really synchronised in how they work and how they play.

“It was a similar sort of idea coming into Swansea [in 2010], they had a decent foundation that we had to build on. I see Celtic as being very similar to that.”

Despite Rodgers’ comments, there remains a chance that Postecoglou will still move for his former frontman, especially if the Kane exit rumours start to ramp up again.

A fee of around £30million is being mooted for Furuhashi which would clearly represent a massive profit for Celtic but would then leave them having to hunt for a replacement before the new season begins.

READ MORE: Tottenham accelerate Liverpool transfer hijack with talks underway over stunning £86m double coup